Technical Difficulties
by Mavelea
Summary: Working for Hoyt Volker closed many door for Eris, but opened so many more. Vaas/OC. M rating for future content.
1. Arrival

Entranced by the wild nature of the ocean, Eris's mind went blank. It would have been a peaceful moment if it weren't for the helicopter blades whirling above. Eris was sitting in the back of the helicopter, ignoring the small talk between the pilot and the other recruits, as she dug into her pocket searching for her phone. The co-pilot caught the motion when he looked back making eye contact with a recruit.

"We're still about twenty minutes out Ms." Without looking away from the screen in her lap, Eris thanked the man and took note of the time and date. 1:43 August 25, 2004. Taking a deep breath she turned to look back at the ocean, her face displaying a look of sorrow. Unknowingly, her right hand moved to grasp a necklace that wasn't there.

"You're not going to last long out here acting like a sad sack of shit, little girl." Eris felt her eyebrows furrow in response to the recruits words. Staying focused on the waves she shot back, "Well aren't you a charmer." Some of the men chuckled.

"He does have a point though," the pilot interjected. "It's bad enough that you're a woman, but feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to help you one bit." Eris wanted to get angry over the pilot's comment, but couldn't. After all, she was headed to an island full of bloodthirsty, money worshiping men who most likely didn't care for any emotional antics. If they thought she was moping about having to work under Volker, she'd make more enemies than allies.

"What is a woman doing here anyway?" One of the recruits asked.

Returning the phone to her pocket Eris looked to face the recruits. "I'm working for Volker as a technician of sorts."

"Of sorts? What the hell is that suppose to mean?" The co-pilot turned to face her. Her answer caught had peaked everyone's interests.

"Volker had me train in many different fields of modern technology. I studied networking, hacking, and even a little of electrical engineering. Since I never specialized, the only job title I can have is general technician." Eris could finally see land in the distance.

"I still don't see why they'd send a woman. You're going to be eaten alive." Eris smirked at the recruits comment. The others didn't say anything, but she knew they agreed with the guy that spoke up.

"Well I'll just have to toughen up then, won't I?"

* * *

Vaas's head itched. The recently acquired wound on his head had just been freshly dressed, so he didn't want to scratch it. Walking towards Hoyt, he chewed on the inside of his cheeks to distract himself from the infernal itch.

"What'd you call me down here for boss?" Vaas asked standing next to Hoyt. They were currently at the southern island's airfield. It was the islands's second main source of recruits after the docks. He was genuinely curious about what brought Hoyt here. Surely Hoyt had better things to do than make sure a couple of recruits landed safely. Hell, Vaas had better things to do at the moment. Coming down to the airfield took him away from building up his pirate army.

"Why to come and meet the new recruits of course." Hoyt smirked.

"Uh, not for nothing boss, but have you looked around recently?" Vaas asked motioning to the people around them. "The entire island is full of recruits. What's so special about a few more?" Hoyt laughed.

"That's a valid point Vaas. However, I'm waiting on one recruit in particular. I've invested a lot of time and money into their education." Vaas couldn't hide his confusion.

"Since when do mercs need training? What classes did he take, 'How to make your enemies shit themselves 101'?"

"This is why I like you Vaas, you amuse me." Hoyt grinned. "No, this recruit isn't a merc. She is more of a," Putting extra emphasis on the word she, Hoyt paused thinking of what to say," technical assistant."

Shocked, Vaas loudly questioned, "She?" Of all the people Hoyt could bring in, he choose a woman. Vaas could feel his smirk grow. He didn't think that Hoyt was interested in women's brains, but rather a different part of their anatomy. "Well this is going to be interesting." He thought to himself.

"Yes, she. I thought you'd want to meet her. After all, she's going to be working with you once we take the northern island. I believe she's about your age. Who knows," Hoyt smiled. "You two might just get along." Staring at Hoyt's face, Vaas wondered whether the man was implying something. A faint swishing noise grew into a violent whirl as the helicopter came into view.

It didn't take long for the chopper to land. Vaas couldn't help but look for the female. He'd be lying if he said she didn't interest him. She must be something special if she caught Hoyt's eye. Even though the aircraft was on the ground, he had a hard time finding her. Noticing that everyone had gotten out he assumed she was on the other side of the chopper. His suspicion turned out to be correct when she ducked under the tail wing and started heading towards Hoyt.

Hoyt was right, she looked about his age. It was obvious that she was an outsider from the color of her skin and the way her hair curled. She was as white as a clean batch of cocaine. Vaas wondered if her hair naturally curled into little ringlets or if she styled it that way. It was a golden brown color, almost dirty blonde. She wore a simple black tank top, forest print camouflage cargo pants, and black and white shoes. Their eyes met and into was as if he was looking into an abyss. Her dark blue eyes moved to the bandage on his head, before looking back to Hoyt.

"Welcome, to your new home." Hoyt said gesturing to the area around them.

"Thank you, Mr. Volker I presume," she said.

"It's boss to you now little Missy," She nodded and turned to Vaas.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Her smirk grew to match Vaas's. Hoyt laughed.

"This is Vaas Montenegro, he'll be in charge of the northern island once it's been liberated." Hoyt said.

"You haven't told us your name yet, señorita ." Vaas said.

"The boss already knows my name, but if you insist, it's Eris. Eris Hochsheid."

"Now," Hoyt clapped his hands together, "With the formalities out of the way, you should get settled in. Vaas you know the old concrete building next to my office." Vaas nodded. "Get the men to bring her things there and help her get situated in one of the rooms in the basement." Hoyt turned towards Eris. "You'll know which room we've prepared for you by looking for a gift on one of the beds. Stop by my office in four hours time, we have business to discuss. " And with that said, Hoyt left Eris and Vaas behind to attend to other business.

* * *

**Thanks for giving my story a shot. Please keep in mind that Vaas isn't really his psychotically violent self yet since he just separated from the tribe recently and hasn't been taking enough cocaine for it to severely effect him yet. Don't worry, we'll see him change throughout the story. **

**Feel free to criticize. **


	2. A Cold Welcome

**Sorry, I wanted to make this chapter longer and flesh out Eris's character more, but I got busy with my move this week. I thought I should give you guys something rather than nothing now since I lose my Internet today and don't get it back until Wednesday. **

* * *

No matter how she sat or fixed her clothing, Eris couldn't stop them from sticking to her. All the bumps in the road caused her seat to rumble, the already uncomfortable seat became unbearable. She bit the inside of her cheek and looked to the jungle to distract herself. No animals roamed near the road, but every now and then a bird flew by overhead. And yet even without wildlife, the jungle seemed alive. Surprisingly the wondrous scenery around her couldn't keep her eyes from looking at one thing in particular. That man right next to her peeked her interest. A thousand things to say ran across her mind lingering for a second before she dismissed them and then rejected the next thought. Some part of her thought small talk wouldn't be appropriate.

Fingers laced with her hair as she positioned it to cover the left side of her face. The spirals didn't completely block her peripheral vision. She'd used this trick so often that she became proficient in looking between the curls. The makeshift shield allowed her to look out of the corner of her eye without anyone seeing the motion unless they examined her very closely. Feeling safe, she looked him over. His tan, muscles, and hair intrigued her, even with the silly bandage on his head. The things that really drew her in though were his eyes and his accent. She'd only heard him say one sentence, but couldn't help but want to hear more. Being pessimistic, she couldn't help but try to find out what was wrong with him.

Feeling embarrassed for looking so long at him, Eris turned to look back at the jungle. The trees seemed to be further apart than before. Eventually the thick overgrowth had turned into a plain of grass. Ahead, a compound came into view. A stone wall ran all the way around it, and men behind stone roadblocks guarded the entrance.

Vaas stopped the vehicle in front of the roadblocks before leaving the it in neutral and getting out. Eris, following his lead, stretched her legs out before going to grab her bags. She swung her backpack over her right shoulder leaving the left strap hanging freely. A faster hand than hers grabbed the handle of her suitcase before she could even reach for it.

"You know, I can carry my own bags." Eris folded her arms together in front of her chest.

Easily lifting the bag off of the vehicle, Vaas smiled at her. "As a guest to this island, it is my duty as host to be accommodating." He motioned towards the gate before starting to walk forward. "Come, I'll show you where your room is."

Catching up to him and matching his pace, Eris asked, "Guest? This is supposed to be my home now isn't it?"

"But it's not your true home now is it? Simply because you call whatever four walls you live in home, doesn't mean you have a connection to it."

"Then you're from this area?" Eris raised an eyebrow and tilting her head to the side.

"I grew up on the northern island, but this island is still apart of my people's land." Reaching a door to a plain concrete building, Vaas held the door open for Eris.

Nodding her head in appreciation Eris waited for him to lead her on once inside. "For someone who's grown up on a remote island, you sure did learn your manners." The hallway at the bottom of the stairs leading to the basement level had four doors that were left open.

"We aren't savages señorita."Vaas looked in the first two doors finding the rooms empty. Moving on he looked at the room to the left before turning to see Eris go into the opposite room. It had a cot in the corner next to a wooden night stand. A simple desk was pushed up against the wall opposite of the door. Eris placed her bag on the old chair in front of the desk causing it to reveal its squeaky nature. Distracted by the glimmer of metal on the cot, she didn't respond to his comment.

There on the bed lay a pistol next to two magazines and a holster. Feeling the weight of the weapon as Eris picked it up, she found it to be lighter than expected. Vaas set the suitcase down next to the desk before watching her. When she placed the gun back on the bed, he took it into his own hands. He looked down the sights and messed around with it before holding it out for her to take. While he played with the weapon Eris had fumbled with the holster a bit before figuring out it was supposed to go around her waist. Vaas watched her adjust the holster to fit comfortably at her side, still holding the gun out. Expecting the gun to still be on the cot, she barely registered the offering hand.

"Have you ever shot a gun before?" Vaas asked as she holster the weapon.

"Once," Eris paused. "It was when I was about 12. My dad took me to a gun range." She rested her hand at the base of her neck. "My shots drew a straight vertical line starting from the middle of the target going down. I let the gun sink a bit lower with each shot thinking it wasn't heavy. But, the gun was heavy enough to lower and yet light enough for me not to notice the slight change."

"You're going to have to become better than that out here if you wanna live. Although hitting the center on your first try is commendable."

"I'll practice later. Have you seen a bathroom down here?" Eris wandered out of the room not hearing an answer. Inspecting the other rooms she found nothing. Upon entering her room, she caught Vaas riffling through her back pack. "Hey! Get out of there!" Reaching to grab the bag away from him, she grasped a hand full of air.

"Oooo, someone's got something to hide." Vaas wore a childish grin while keeping the bag just out of her reach. Eris glared at him. Feeling weight at her side, an idea came to her. Trying to mimic a gunslinger, she wiped out the pistol and aimed it at his head. He simply raised an eyebrow in response.

"Do it. Pull the fucking trigger chica." Unnerved, Eris couldn't stop her face from displaying her confusion. He had a gun pointed right at him but it had no effect on him.

"You'd risk dying over a backpack?" Her hands shook, but not so violently as for him to notice.

"You'd risk killing someone over a backpack?" After a few seconds of her not replying, Vaas dropped the bag on the chair before grabbing the gun from her hands. "Here, let me make this easy for you." Eris watched in horror as he held the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. A loud click resonated through the room. Vaas smiled manically and threw the gun at her.

"The next time you point that at someone," he moved behind her to whisper in her ear. "Remember the bullets." He walked toward the door, stopping in the doorway to look over his shoulder at the petrified girl. "See ya around chica."

Eris felt her head pound in rhythm with her heart. Turning to look at the door, she realized Vaas was gone. Her chest expanded and contracted as she tried in vain to clam her nerves. Managing to walk over the the cot, she let her self fall into a siting position before looking at the magazines. When the magazine slid into the gun, Eris made sure to turn the safety on before holstering it. Elbows dug into her legs as she rested her head in her hands.

"I'm an idiot."

* * *

Two hours ago, Eris felt like the biggest fool on the planet. Comparing that feeling to her current one, she wanted the first back. A mix of nervousness and fear conflicted inside her as she chewed on her lower lip. Hoyt had wanted her to meet with him, but she had to wait outside his office until he got off the phone. After she felt a dull pain from leaning on her right leg for a long time, she transferred her weight onto her left leg.

"Ms. Hochscheid, please come in. " Hoyt motioned for her to come in after placing the phone gently down. Stretching his hand out to a chair near the desk, he said, "Have a seat." "

What did you want to talk about boss?" Crossing her legs, Eris focused on Hoyt.

"Cutting straight to the point, I respect that quality. However, I like to get to know my employees before discussing business." Eris heard the sound of a drawer opening as Hoyt leaned down. "Would you car for a drink?" He set two glasses on the desk in front of him holding a bottle of whiskey. Eris shook her head at his offer.

"I don't willfully ingest poison." Hoyt poured a glass for himself before returning the bottle and clean glass to the drawer.

"Suit yourself," Hoyt took a sip before continuing. "I take it you don't care for cigars, cigarettes, or drugs then either?" Eris shook her head in response. "Paranoid about your health hmm, there's worse things you can do to yourself."

Ignoring his comment, Eris couldn't bring herself to care about what he was saying. "Mr. Volker, you had me train for two years to do a job, not sit around making small talk. Now that I'm finally here, I'd like to start." Hoyt sneered and slammed his hands flat on the desk in front of her before standing from his chair. Eris couldn't hide the slight jolt in her seat that the unexpected gesture caused.

"Listen here child, " He growled. "I'm the boss, if I want to make small talk with my employees, I will." He took a deep breath and stood up straight. " However, you are right. It's about time my investment paid off. As you know, there are two islands. The northern island is over run with the locals." The sneer he had lost moments ago spread across his face once again as he spit out the word, 'locals' with spite. "This island has more or less been purged already. The main problem that's left is a group of poachers who set up shop before I arrived here. So far I haven't had any trouble with them, but this is my island. I want them gone."

"Where do I fit in all of this?" Eris watched Hoyt intently as he walked across the room making large, grandiose hand gestures.

"You," Hoyt pointed to her with both hands clasped together. "You are going to stop their communications. There's a box of transmission scramblers in the supply building. You install them on the radio towers and presto! No more long range communication." A smile spread across his face. "We kill two birds with one stone this way. The Rakyat, what the locals call themselves, won't be able to communicate either. Any questions?" Hoyt came to a stop right in front of Eris's chair, using his desk as a seat.

"How do I get to these radio towers, and is there a manual along with the scramblers?" With Hoyt directly in front of her, she was forced to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact. After she asked him the question, he began to pace behind his desk, scratching his chin in thought.

"I don't have any men to spare at the moment, but I won't let you wander off into the jungle never to be seen again. Get Vaas to guide you, get him to do something useful. As for the manual, no clue." Hoyt clapped his hands before running them together. " Now, go to supply and grab a phone along with the scramblers. Am I clear?"

"Crystal, sir." Eris got up and walked to the door before Hoyt's voice stopped her.

"One more thing Ms. Hochscheid," Hoyt smiled. "I want you to remember, all work and no play makes you a dull girl." Eris responded with an half-hearted agreement before hunting down the supply building.

* * *

** Don't worry Eris isn't going to stay this lame, I'm sure Vaas can break her out of her serious shell. :P**

******Thanks for the reviews, favs, follows, etc. :D**


	3. The First Tower

**Sooo sorry for the delay on this. I want to say I was busy but it was more of me being an idiot these past few weeks. I pinky promise I'll get another chapter up this week. **

* * *

Leaving Hoyt's office building, Eris sighed in relief. She was certain that she wouldn't hear much from Hoyt, thankfully, until the towers were finished. The guard at the front of the building pointed her in the direction of the supply building. She had to try hard to keep from laughing at the mixture of surprise and disgust on the guard's face when she asked where Vaas would be. Just hearing his name made her remember the stunt she pulled earlier. Groaning, she pinched the bridge of her nose while shaking her head. At least he wasn't mad.

The scent of laundry detergent escaped the building as Eris opened the door. The supply building had a small laundromat set up on the left side with two mercs washing their uniforms. On the right side, there were rows of shelves separated evenly behind a counter. A red headed clerk, with his head down, sat on a stool behind the counter.

Walking up to the counter, Eris said, "I need some radio scram..." She dropped the sentence after realizing he wasn't paying any attention. The magazine in his hands held all of his attention while the headphones in his ears blocked out the sounds around him. Rolling her eyes, she waved her hand over the , he raised his head and pulled out a headphone.

"What?" The clerk spit out.

Mimicking the annoyance on his face Eris repeated," Where are the radio scramblers and phones?" He pointed to some shelves before shoving the headphone back in place. She said a sarcastic thanks before wandering in the direction he pointed.

Bed linens, MRE packets, and toiletries lined the shelves she passed before finding shelves with hardware on them. She almost walked right past the scramblers lost in thought over the quality of the food here. She hadn't seen the cafeteria set up yet and hoped they had better food than the military MRE's. A pile of hardware sat disorganized in the box looking as if someone threw them in. After a minute or two of digging through the box, Eris concluded that there was no manual. The last thing she wanted to do was playing the guessing game a top a tower where she made a perfect target. However, with no clear instructions, she had no choice.

Eris grabbed a handful of scramblers, shoving them in her pocket, before looking for the phones. Luckily, they weren't hard to find. Sure, she brought her old phone with her to the island, but without service it wasn't very useful for anything other than telling the time and date.

Leaving the building without the clerk noticing was easy. Eris even managed to get a look at what he was reading. Judging from the exposed breasts, it was some sort of Playboy. With everything she needed in hand, she headed to the was on going construction since there were only two buildings and a few hundred mercs on the island. A handful of people such as officers and a few lucky guys got their own rooms. As she entered the building the guard had pointed her to, she saw mercs beginning to wake up and get ready to start their night shifts. Managing not to disturb anyone, she made it to the back of the building where the single rooms were located.

There were eight rooms in total. Three of them had their doors closed. One door she looked into had some bearded guy in the merc uniform that glared at Eris as she passed and the rest were empty. Stopping in front of the first closed door, she knocked. After a minute of silence, she moved onto the next door. She held her hand in front of the door when she heard the faint sound of music through the wood. Then her sixth sense kicked in as she felt someones gaze on her. Looking to her left, she almost didn't see the bearded guy poking his head out into the hallway.

Unnerved, she pointed at the door and asked, "Is this Vaas's room?" The man's glare deepened as he slid back into his room silently. Raising her eyebrow, Eris muttered, "Oooo-kay," under her breath before knocking on the door. A very annoyed, "What!", came from the other side. Recognizing the voice, she asked," It's Eris, can I come in?" She heard movement before the door unlocked and swung inward. Vaas stood in the doorway with his arms folded in front of him.

"Just can't get enough of me can you señorita?"

"Obviously not," Eris replied sarcastically. The music she thought she heard was replaced with dialogue that sounded familiar. "What are you listening to?"

Vaas turned to look in the room. "You mean what am I watching. Aladdin." Eris chuckled. "What's so funny?" He towered over her while she managed to stop laughing.

"You watching a kid's movie. I just didn't expect that." Eris failed horribly at hiding the smile that crept across her face.

"So I'm not allowed to feel nostalgic, hm?"

"No. It just never entered my mind that you would do something like that. Anyway, we got work to do. Hoyt wants you to escort me to the nearest radio tower. Get a vehicle ready, I'll meet you at the front gate." Turning to leave, a hand grasping her arm stopped her. She followed the arm with her eyes to Vaas's now maniacal eyes.

"What makes you think that I'm at your beck and call, chica?" His words dripped with malice. Eris couldn't help but jump slightly at his tone. She knew he felt the twitch that ran through her once the corner of his mouth curled into a sinister smirk. She let out a breath that she didn't realize she had held in.

"This is an order from Hoyt. If you have a problem with it, you'll have to take it up with him." Her voice shook and broke every few words. Pain shot through her arm from the death grip he had on her.

Through gritted teeth, Vaas growled, "Be ready in ten minutes and don't you fucking order me around again chica. It won't end well." He released her arm before slinking back into his room and closing the door behind him. Eris rubbed her arm where his hand had been and set off for the latrine.

"I'm just pissing everyone off today aren't I?" She asked herself.

After relieving herself and grabbing a pair of sunglasses, Eris headed to the front gate. Vaas wasn't exactly hard to find. He was currently leaning against a jeep. Donning the sunglasses, Eris walked toward him. Any trace of anger was gone from his demeanor. But just because he wasn't angry didn't mean he was happy. As she got closer she noticed he was playing with something in his hands.

"What's that?" Eris asked stopping a couple feet away from him.

"Something I've been meaning to ask you about." Vaas held out a fist,with the object enclosed, to his side. Opening his hand, a pair of dog tags dropped down until the chain, wrapped around his middle finger, caught. Eris moved her sunglasses to the top of her head to get a better look. "Why do you have some random guys tags?"

Rage boiled in Eris as she reached to grab the chain. "Give them back!" Reacting quickly, Vaas held them up and out of her reach.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, that's not an answer señorita. Tell me who they really belong to and I might hand them over." Anger clouded Eris's mind as she aimed a kick to Vaas's groin. He had expected retaliation and grabbed her ankle before it made contact. He held it high enough to where she couldn't do anything but stand and glare at him.

Defeated, Eris growled, "Fine! They're my father's, who died two years ago today. Now. Give. Them. Back."

"Say please." A smug smirk grew on his face. Eris continued to growl at him. She tried in vain to free her foot, but the more she struggled, the higher he raised it.

Swallowing her pride as pain shot through her leg, Eris took a deep breath trying to calm herself. "Please."

Smiling, Vaas dropped her leg. "Ok, since you were so polite you can have them back." The momentum from the unexpected leg drop forced Eris to stumble forward. She defensively put her hands out in front. When she collided with something hard, she braced herself and regained balance. Looking from her hands, which were currently on Vaas's chest, up to Vaas's face she recoiled back. The smirk was still plastered in his face as he held out the dog tags. With the speed of a viper she snatched them out of his hand and placed them around her neck.

"What, no thank you?" Eris opened her mouth to reply before shutting it again. Her hands balled into fists seeing how happy Vaas was. Ignoring him, she went and sat down in the passenger's side of the jeep. A minute or two later, Vaas got in and started the vehicle. Holding onto the necklace brought back painful memories Eris could't suppress.

* * *

It was a beautiful day, the sun shone brightly in the sky with no clouds to block it's rays. Eris looked out the window to watch the birds fly. At the front of the classroom the professor wrote notes on the board. The other students were either diligently taking notes or doodling in their notebooks.

She had just started her first year of college. When class was finally over she went back to her dorm room. Opening the door, she was surprised to see two marines in their dress uniform standing in her room. One marine had a wooden box in his hands while the other held an American flag folded into a triangle. Both of their faces filled with sorrow. Terror rushed through Eris.

"I regret to inform you of the death of Sergeant Leeroy Davis. He died bravely fighting for his country." The marine with the box spoke up. Eris's knees buckled before giving out. Sitting on the floor, it became harder and harder to breath and her vision blurred from the tears beginning to form. The marine with the box knelt down in front of her holding it out to her. "These were his personal effects. They're yours now." She reached for the box, her arms weighed down with grief. Placing it in her lap, she lifted the top up. A picture laid on top of the box's contents. Holding it in front of her, the dam brook as tears began to flood down her face.

Two creases from constant folding and unfolding were plain to see on the photo. Yet even with the wear and tear, she recognized it immediately. It was her, when she was eight, sitting on her father's shoulders. Both of their faces displayed bright, shining smiles. Eris was dressed up as Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She looked rather silly since she wouldn't wear a wig and her hair resembled a bird's nest. She looked nothing like the character, but neither her or her father cared. It was the first and now the last time she'd ever visit Disney World with her dad.

The picture gently fell down like a feather as she moved her hands to hide her face from the world.

* * *

"Helllooo? Are you going to give me the silent treatment forever?" Vaas's voice brought Eris back to reality. She quickly wiped away some tears in the corner of her eyes before focusing on the jungle. Seeing the movement, Vaas said solemnly, "He must've meant a lot to you."

"He was my dad. He still does."

"What's with the change of name?" Eris looked at Vaas. The cheer from earlier was replaced with a serious look focused on the road.

"I took my mother's name when I learned she died giving birth to me. I told my dad I wanted to keep her memory alive that way. He even got a position on a military base in Germany so I could attend a German school and learn the culture. It made me feel closer to her. Where did you find these? I thought I lost them." Coming up to the base of a metal tower, the jeep came to a halt. Vaas turned to face Eris, whose focus was solely on the tags in her hand.

"Those? They were in your backpack." Vaas looked up at the tower. "Come on, we're here."

Eris composed herself before setting her feet back on the ground. The sight of the tower in no way comforted her. It was falling apart. She could plainly she rust and scraps of the tower had fallen into the grass under it. Concerned she asked, "Will that thing even hold my weight?"

"There's only one way to find out." Vaas said while shooing her towards the tower. She scowled at him before advancing as he leaned against the jeep and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

"And how do I get down? Everything's all fucked up."

"Watch your language, a lady shouldn't curse." Vaas lit the cigarette in his mouth. Before turning to rummage through the back of the jeep.

Eris laughed, "Ha! Me a lady. Yeah right." She let out a surprised shriek as something flew towards her. Catching it she noticed it was some sort of climbing hook.

"Use that to take a zip line down." Eris hooked it to a belt loop before finally beginning her ascent. "You really need to learn how to say thank you señorita. You forget it often." Vaas yelled after her.

"Oh thank you so much wonderful mummy head." She yelled in a damsel in distress tone. "There! Ya happy?"

"What did you call me?" Vaas yelled clearly agitated.

"You heard me!" Pausing for a second, Eris nervously jumped a gap. Sighing with relief once she was sure the tower wouldn't fall out from under her, she continued, "Mummy head."

"Do you **want** to be shot?" Eris made it up the last ladder to the top of the tower. Going to the edge, she could see Vaas standing there giving her a death glare.

"Do you want Hoyt to kill you?" When no response came, she went over to the control panel. "Thought so," she said to herself.

Eris had a vague idea of what did what in the panel. She pulled a scrambler out of her pocket. Two wires came out from the hardware, one yellow and the other red. Finding similar colored wires, she tried splicing them together. Thirty minutes and two fried scramblers later she finally managed to get a scrambler working. The green, flashing light on the top of the tower turned red.

"Are you finished yet? Its dinner time." Vaas yelled.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming down." Eris followed three cables with her eyes from the top of the tower down to where they ended. Two led into or right in front of the jungle while the third went to an open field. She wasn't to thrilled to find out that in order to hook onto the wire, she'd have to jump off the tower. Her heart thumped in her chest as she realized the fall would kill her.

"For fuck sakes, chica! Hurry it the fuck up! I'm starving down here." He yelled seeing her simply stand in place.

Eris couldn't keep her hands from shaking and trying to keep them still only made them shake more. She jumped in place testing if she could jump far enough to reach the cable. The tower groaned in protest with each landing. Not liking that sound, she forced her eyes to stay open as she jumped with the hook in her right hand. Panicking, she managed to get the hook onto the cable. The cable jerked, due to the added weigh, which in turn caused Eris to slam her eyes shut and her left hand to grasp her right one. Wind rushed all around her as she rushed down the line, the friction causing a loud zipping noise. She forced her right eye to open and noticed she was almost at the ground. For fear of crashing into the rock the zip line was anchored in, she let go of the hook and tumbled onto the ground. The impact caused pain to run through her back. Standing up, she felt the adrenaline course through her. Nothing was broken or out of place. A huge grin spread across her face. She never felt so alive heading to the jeep she grabbed the hook from the ground.

"Did you see that? That was awesome!" She yelled as excited as a toddler on Christmas morning.

"Eh, You need to work on the landing." A small smile found its way onto Vaas's face.

"Yeah, whatever," Eris said getting into the jeep. When Vaas jumped into the driver's seat she turned to him. "So, food?"

"Food" Vaas nodded his head turning the key in the ignition.


End file.
